Editing. When I started writing seriously, I had a vague idea that it was part of the process. But I imagined it was a quick read-through accompanied by a few minor corrections. Something done after the book was finished.

There was no single moment when I realised my mistake. But over the years of writing, the amount of time I spent editing grew. Now I spend probably twice as much time editing as I do in the raw writing process. (Though the editing hours are concentrated in a smaller number of months.)

Having edited the Outlaw and the Upstart King, in March I sent it off to the publisher and got on with writing the novel after that. It came back to me in June with editorial comments. I have spent the time since working through it again. I actually edited it through twice in that time, once reading it aloud and once listening as the computer read it to me.

Yesterday I sent it off again. I am really pleased with the improvements. It is all entirely subjective, of course. But it seems to me that this period of work has made the book significantly stronger. (It will come back to me one more time after the copy edit. But that doesn’t usually require me to do much work.)

So that is it! I am having a couple of days off before plunging back into the writing. But I thought I should pop back into 'the office’ to share a few more facts about the Outlaw and the Upstart King. And another short extract.

1)This is the first time I have written a novel of over 100,000 words. Being dyslexic, I struggle to read long books. For that reason, I try to make mine as to-the-point as possible. My previous novels have been around 90,000 words. This one just wanted to be a shade longer.

2) This is the first time I’ve written a novel that seemed to need a map. So a map is being drafted. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me.

3) This book made me cry a lot. Some during the writing. But mostly during the edit, when all the strands came together. I cry easily. Almost always from sudden and unexpected moments of intense sincerity or happiness.

4) The strand of this story that made me cry was not planned. When I found it first, I thought how interesting and fun it was. It grew and developed as I wrote. It became important in the climax and resolution. But only during the last edit did I feel that I understood it properly. I want to tell you all more about it, but that would be a big spoiler.

5) I had to do a fair amount of chemistry and medical reading during my research.

And here is another short extract:

In Labrador they joked that more Newfoundlanders had been killed in arguments over fish than had ever been killed over women. But what did they know? Feudal Newfoundland was a place apart, even in the wilds. The thing they fought for, died for, was to hold a stretch of coast. Fish, seals and seaweed would be part of it. Whales too if the gods were kind. But the meat of it was this: someone might try to smuggle weapons across. Without a harbour at his command, a Patron could do nothing to stop such a crime. Nor could he try to do it himself.

They were dangerous waters.

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